The use of hitches whereby a towing vehicle can pull a following trailer or the like is well known and many types of such hitches have heretofore been suggested and/or utilized. One of the better known of such hitches utilizes a ball mounted behind the rear bumper of a towing vehicle so that a mating cup on the tongue of a trailer can be readily releasably attached thereto to allow the trailer to pivot with respect to the towing vehicle in all directions as necessary.
Obviously, as the trailer is connected with the towing vehicle at only a single point, considerable forces are often exerted on the hitch during movement of the vehicle and trailer. This is particularly true whenever the towing vehicle accelerates or deaccelerates, and also can occur when forces are exerted on the trailer in opposition to movement of the towing vehicle as, for example, where the wheels of the trailer come into contact with an obstruction such as a rock or the like. With such forces encountered, hitch failures have heretofore occurred.
If, however, the forces, or impact, could be reduced, or spaced over a larger time period, then hitch failures could be reduced, as could possible discomfort to the persons in the towing vehicle due to exertion of such forces.